I asked Matt about carbon Blade masts last week. He said an A cat mast (longer than F16) weighs about 20lbs. while the alum. Blade mast weighs about 38lbs. So certainly, we would all love to drop that extra 18 lbs. on the stick. BUT...the F16 class has a "tip weight" rule that would off set the lighter carbon mast benefits. ALSO, Matt said that at today's carbon prices, a new carbon Blade mast, fully rigged and ready to step, would cost pretty near $5,000!

Now, I'm all in favor of a lighter mast, and I've had two cats with carbon masts, never had a problem, never even seen one break, but for $5,000, I'm not sure that's the direction I want to go right now. New sails would be much less and I could spend the rest of the money for hotels at regattas! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />